COLCHESTER, VERMONT -- It all started over a year ago. My husband and I are fairly new to this area so who good mechanics are is a learning lesson. Gary moved in across the road from us and we became I thought friends.I guess he saw us coming he opened a garage and fixed our rodeo or so we thought. We also bought several cars from him as well. First the repairs he put a clutch in our rodeo which is a 6 cyclinder he put a 4 cyclinder in when we paid for a 6 cyclinder, also we paid for a cadalac converter he bored it out instead there is so much we paid for that we found out after he did not due we paid for 2 fuel pumps we found after he never replaced it the first time. We gave him a couple thousand to fix our rodeo but to our dismay over 3/4 was not done he used us for money. We bought a car that the heater never worked he had the car in his garage for 7 monthes out of 12 we sold the car. We bought another car from him before everything crashed well we gave him 2650 total with insurance money plus payments and trade in just have him tell us that the car after we gave hime moeny for a tune up that it was junk. So we asked for our money back he agreed. We have not seen him since his garage is closed, and he was evicted from his house. About 2 monthes ago a lt. burns from the dept of motor vechiles( criminal investgator) called us and the last car we sold us was sold illegally. We are not in trouble but we learned that gary owes everyone, including the original owner of the car he sold us. H e never paid for the car so the car ended up going back to the original owner. We figure he owes over 3500 and we probably will never see any of it. The bbb has sent him a letter but of course no response. We were told by the bbb to contact the state attorney plus small claims court. stay away from him he is a swindler

why did you keep doing business with this "friend" after he botched your Rodeo and charged for parts he didn't actually install?

Posted by cycolbur on 2007-09-03:

We unforunately did not catch on until it was to late. Like our clutch went a after the whole deal with the car, then we started to look into what work he did and did not do. The kicker was when the criminal investgator called and told us that the car was purchased illegally, gary never paid the guy for the car and the orginal owner was looking for the car. We did not even have the car gary did not give us back the car after he told us that it us junk. He took us for a ride but he took others alot worse then us. He wrote a check out for 17 grand to buy a sportcar at a dealership then he resold the car at a profit but the check he wrote was bad. He got his money for the car and never covered the check that he bounced. From what I was told the list goes on and on. I consider myslef lucky it was not worse.

Posted by ThinLazyAmerican on 2007-09-03:

Why would the BBB help you in this case?

Perhaps, the only thing you can do, is sue in small claims court. Hopefully you have some paperwork, otherwise you have nothing.

I lost a lot of my friends over money. It seems money is more important than friendship.

Money stinks!

Posted by Anonymous on 2007-09-03:

TLA is right the BBB will do no more then what you did here.

Posted by Anonymous on 2007-09-04:

Did this fella have a legitimate business license? Do you have any documentation from the work that he did? Receipts for payments that you made? small claims court sounds like your best option, although it doesn't sound like you'll actually get anything even if you were to win.

Posted by cycolbur on 2007-09-07:

He did have a business liecense. We hae the paper work and we are going to small claims court.From what we told hewill have to pay us and the others or go to jail. A 17 grand check is what he owes one person, and 25 grand to another plus several others like us. We talked to an attorney and with all of us he will wither pay or do time.